Estimated reading time: 2 minutes
Shohei Ohtani has struggled lately with walks but that was not the case on Tuesday against AL West rivals, Houston Astros. He now has 20 walks on the season but only has 25.2 innings pitched. Not terrible but not good either. However, he only gave up one walk on Tuesday after going 7 innings.
The best is yet to come from Ohtani
It was a welcoming sign to all Angel fans that Shohei Ohtani was able to go 7 complete innings which is somewhat of a rarity for him. The one run he gave up puts him at 2.10 ERA for the season which is the best in the Angels’ staff by far. One incredible stat for Ohtani is that he has given up 11 hits but he has also hit 10 home runs. That is perhaps the best stat that embodies the true wonder that Ohtani’s abilities are.
Shohei put the Angels in a perfect position to get the win but the Angels’ offense was faltering all night. The lone glimpse of hope came in the top of the 8th inning when Taylor Ward hit a game-tying solo home run. That meant that Ohtani’s best start of career, arguably, would not end in a loss.
Same old Angels’ bullpen
In the bottom half of the inning, the overworked Angels’ bullpen gave up a few runs and really gave the Angels no hope for a comeback.
If there is a silver lining, it’s Ohtani’s pitching performance. His hitting ability has been proven already but his pitching has been questionable ever since he came from Japan. But he had control of his fastball and his splitter was nasty so Angel fans have reason to be excited for what’s to come. Of course, it won’t solve all their problems. Ohtani can’t carry the team’s pitching staff. But he’s trying his best to.
Shohei in the outfield
He even played in right field after Maddon took him off the mound so that he would still be able to bat. Talk about someone who wants to help his team no matter the physical toll it costs him.
